1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a race groove machining system such as, for example, a grinding machine or a lather turning machine for machining a component parts of a rolling bearing or a constant velocity flexible coupling to form a race groove therein, and also to a machining method therefor.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Since in a rolling bearing or a constant velocity flexible coupling a plurality of steel balls runs in a race groove formed in any of the component parts, that is, outer and inner races, an extremely high precision is required. For this reason, in the event of occurrence of any deviation in size from the design size and/or a defective grinding result, a in-site monitoring of the machining apparatus and/or inspection of the products have hitherto been carried out to provide a result of monitoring and/or inspection according to which the machining apparatus in trouble have been adjusted.
However, as far as this type of the component parts are concerned, machining conditions are many and mingled to complexity. By way of example the machining conditions such as rotational speed of the main shaft, machining feed rate, machining feed speed, dressing conditions, and dressing compensation amount are involved together. For this reason, it is extremely difficult for an attendant worker or operator to make a proper decision and then to perform a remedy according to the result of monitoring and inspection. Depending on the result of monitoring and inspection, an expert technician employed by the manufacturer of the machining system tends to be called to visit in the site and perform a diagnose the operating status of the machining system so that he or she can perform adjustment of control devices, requiring a time-consuming and laborious job.
As regards the maintenance, the conventional machining apparatus have been examined at the site of installation thereof as to any possible change in operating condition with time and, should the necessity arise, component parts are replaced at such site, thus requiring a time-consuming and laborious job.
To keep the machining apparatus in a condition to achieve a precision and a performance, accumulation of histories of machining data in the past for each of devices of the machining system is required. However, where means for accumulating the machining data and for analyzing and managing those accumulated machining data are installed for each of the machining devices, the equipment cost would become high and the efficiency of use of the equipments would be low.
On the other hand, in the manufacture of the bearing and the constant velocity flexible coupling, production of a large amount of component parts is necessary and therefore it is often that a number of machining devices of the same type are installed and operated under the same machining condition. In such case, although the same or similar adjustment is required for all of the machining devices, the current practice is that for each of the machining device, individual adjustments are carried out, resulting in reduction in efficiency of adjusting works.
Accordingly, the present invention has been devised with a view to substantially eliminating the above discussed problems inherent in the prior art machining apparatus and is intended to provide an improved race groove machining system in which signals detected in machining devices at different remote sites are monitored to grasp the status of machining so that a remote control can be achieved to perform a proper adjustment and setting to thereby allow the component part to be manufactured precisely with a stabilized dimension.
Another important object of the present invention is to provide a race groove machining method of the kind utilized in the race groove machining system of the type referred to above.
In order to accomplish the objects of the present invention, there is provided a system for machining a component part having a race groove along which ball elements run, said system comprising a machine tool for performing a machining operation on the component part, an acquisition means for acquiring information related to the machining operation, a control means for controlling the machine tool based on the information acquired by the acquisition means, a remote information processing means installed at a site remote from the control means, and a communication means for connecting the control means and the remote information processing means through a communication line. The remote information processing means has a capability of acquiring the information, acquired by the acquisition means, through the control means and the communication line and transmitting the information to the control means. The acquisition means may comprise sensors or any means capable of reading information stored in a predetermined storage device.
In this machining system, the machine tool performs a machining operation on the component part under the control of the control means. During the machining or at any desired time, the acquisition means acquires information related to the machining operation. The acquired information is transmitted to the remote information processing means through the control means and the communication line. The information processing means operates to cause the acquired and transmitted information to be displayed on a display screen and to perform a predetermined processing on such information which is subsequently supplied to the control means. In response to the supplied information, the control means controls the machine tool.
Accordingly, a proper countermeasure to bring the machine tool in a proper operating condition can conveniently be taken by allowing the remote information processing means at a remote site to monitor the information acquired by the acquisition means, causing the dispatched expert technician or the computer to grasp and diagnose the operating condition of the machine tool based on the acquired information and to generate information necessary to change values preset in the control means according to the result of diagnosis, and transmitting the generated information from the information processing means to the control means.
The race groove machining system of the present invention may further comprise an additional information processing means intervening between the control means and the communication means and independent from the remote information processing means. In this case, the remote information processing means interrogates the information with the control means through the additional information processing means.
Preferably, the information related to the machining operation may include machining conditions stored in a machining condition storage device, in which case the acquisition means has its acquiring capability of reading the information stored in the machining condition storage device.
Also preferably, the information related to the machining operation may include a product information, which is information descriptive of a product shape and an precision, stored in a product information storage device, in which case the acquisition means has its acquiring capability of reading the product information stored in the product information storage device. The term xe2x80x9cproductxe2x80x9d referred to here means a product obtained as a result of the race groove machining system performing the machining operation on the component part.
The information related to the machining operation may preferably include information descriptive of a machining status, and the acquisition means may include a machining detecting means comprised of a plurality of sensors for detecting statuses of the machining operation.
The present invention also provides a method of machining a component part having a race groove along which ball elements run, said method comprising the steps of transmitting information related to a machining operation and acquired from an acquisition means that is provided in a machine tool or a control means for controlling the machine tool, to a remote information processing means remote from the control means through a communication line, supplying to the control means information generated by the remote information processing means on the basis of the transmitted information, controlling the machine tool by means of the control means that utilizes the supplied information; and machining the component part by means of the machine tool to form a race groove in the component part. It is to be noted that the information generated by the remote information processing means may be that inputted by an operator of the system.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a system for machining a component part having a race groove along which ball elements run, said system comprising, a machine tool for performing a machining operation on the component part, a control means for controlling the machine tool, an acquisition means for acquiring information related to the machining operation, a setting means for setting reference machining conditions, a calculating means for calculating a difference between the reference machining conditions and the information acquired by the acquisition means, a feed-back means for supplying a result of calculation, performed by the calculating means, to the control means as feed-back information, a remote information processing means installed at a site remote from the control means, and a communication means for connecting both the control means and the setting means with the remote information processing means through a communication line. The control means utilizes the feed-back information for the control. The remote information processing means has a capability of acquiring the feed-back information through the control means and the communication line and transmitting information to the control means and the setting means. The acquisition means may comprise sensors provided in the machine tool or any means capable of reading information stored in a predetermined storage device which forms a part of the control means.
In this machining system according to the alternative embodiment, during the machining or at any desired time, the acquisition means acquires information related to the machining operation. The calculating means calculates the difference between the acquired information and the reference machining conditions set in the setting means, which difference is subsequently supplied as feed-back information to the control means. The control means makes use of this feed-back information for controlling the machine tool and also supply it to the remote information processing means through the communication means and the communication line. The information processing means operates to cause the supplied information to be displayed on a display screen and to perform a predetermined processing on such information which is subsequently supplied to the control means and the setting means. The setting means updates the contents set therein according to the information transmitted from the remote information processing means. Thereafter, the updated content in the setting means is compared with the content acquired by the acquisition means.
Accordingly, even with this alternative system a proper countermeasure to bring the machine tool in a proper operating condition can conveniently be taken by allowing the remote information processing means at a remote site to monitor the information acquired by the acquisition means, causing the dispatched expert technician or the computer to grasp and diagnose the operating condition of the machine tool based on the acquired information and to generate information necessary to change values preset in the control means according to the result of diagnosis, and transmitting the generated information from the information processing means to the setting means and the control means.
The race groove machining system according to the alternative embodiment may also further comprise a machine-side information processing means intervening between both of the control means and the setting means and the communication means and independent from the remote information processing means. In this case, the remote information processing means interrogates the information with the control means and the setting means through the machine-side information processing means.
Preferably, the reference machining conditions and the information related to the machining operation, acquired by the acquisition means, may include machining conditions.
Also preferably, the reference machining conditions and the information related to the machining operation, acquired by the acquisition means, may include a product information descriptive of the shape of the product and the precision thereof The term xe2x80x9cproductxe2x80x9d referred to here means a product obtained as a result of the race groove machining system performing the machining operation on the component part.
The present invention also provides an alternative method of machining a component part having a race groove along which ball elements run, with the use of a machine tool under the control of a control means. This alternative method comprises the steps of setting reference machining conditions in a setting means, acquiring information related to a machining operation from the machine tool and the control means by an acquisition means, calculating a difference between the reference machining condition, set in the setting means, and the information acquired by the acquisition means, by means of a calculating means, supplying a result of calculation, performed by the calculating means, to the control means as feed-back information, said control means utilizing the feed-back information for the control and to transmit the feed-back information to a remote information processing means that is installed at a site remote from the control means and connected with the control means through a communication line, supplying to the control means and the setting means information generated by the remote information processing means on the basis of the transmitted information, controlling the machine tool by means of the control means that utilizes the supplied information, and updating contents of the reference processing conditions set in the setting means. It is to be noted that the information generated by the remote information processing means may be that inputted by an operator of the system.
In any event, the component part may be that of a bearing or a constant velocity flexible coupling, and the machine tool may be either a grinding machine or a lather turning machine.